Muhammad Mokaev tells Jafel Filho to “lose like a man”, “I will never beat him even if I end my career like this”.

Muhammad Mokaev says he’s built differently, even if it’s at the expense of his long-term health and MMA future.

The 22-year-old flyweight fought through a devastating knee attempt from Jafel Filho at UFC 286 that saw Mokaev’s leg bend in a way the human body isn’t built to support. In fact, Mokaev posted a photo on social media showing the horrific swelling in his leg after the event, but he still has no regrets about giving up the punch before the tables eventually turned and Filho finished off with a submission within minutes.

“I will never hit him,” Mokaev said Monday MMA Time. “I will never hit him. I know it’s a crazy thing to say. i will go to sleep They break my arm. If the judge stops [the fight, then it stops]. If they don’t stop, I will never hit them, even if I end my career this way.

“I just have this principle. I think I spent the strongest time of my life jumping inside the cage. Just my principles. I want to be different.”

Mokaev announced that he underwent an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the damage to his knee. He still has to get results to find out what potential injury he might have.

A torn ACL or other torn ligament could sideline Mokaev for the better part of 2023, but he hopes the diagnosis will require only rehab and rest rather than surgery.

“Crazy, the first day of the fight, I didn’t sleep until the next night,” Mokaev said of the sore knee. “It grew and I had an MRI and I’m waiting for the results and I hope everything goes well because I want to be the youngest UFC champion.

“I don’t think there’s anything ripped out, but it could be partial [tear]. Maybe still holding, I hope. That’s how I feel.”

Replays and photos of the incident show how much torque Filho had on his knee as he continued to pull on Mokaev’s leg in an attempt to secure the submission victory. Mokaev said he heard a lot of banging and banging on his knee, but still refused to give up.

“I just saw Jafel Filho say he heard nine cracks, but in my head, I heard like six or seven,” Mokaev said. “The first four cracks, Herb asked Dean, ‘Did he cap it?’ And I shook my head [no]and Herb Dean said no, so he got back into a stronger position and pulled harder.

“I heard every part of the breakup, but I [was] wait until it’s completely torn.”

Mokaev is hoping for good news on his knee, but is prepared for the worst if that’s the outcome.

Even if the latter turns out to be the case, Mokaev said he won’t regret not pressing, especially considering how he stormed back then to get the win and remain undefeated.

“It’s worth it,” Mokaev said. “Now my heart would hurt more than my knees [if I tapped]. I know it’s hard for me to walk or do things. I have two floors in our house and I couldn’t go up to the second floor since I came back to my house. But I think it’s worth it.

“An injury can be healed. People say it will never be the same again, all of this. If my heart is still strong after that night, I will come back.’

Mokaev also responded to Filho’s claims that he felt the Dagestani touched him several times during the fight, some of which reportedly occurred separately from the knee attempt.

“[Mokaev tapped] at least three times, Filho told MMA Fighting. I had

“I was looking at the referee the whole time. The knee, I felt it hit with my foot and the referee asked: ‘Tup?’ I released him, and he was able to twist his knee a little.’

Mokaev scoffed at those comments and pointed out that none of Filho’s applied submissions stayed closer to the finish line than the knee bar, and he refused to give it up, so why would he let it go at another moment when there was hardly any risk. ?

“Listen, if I hadn’t hit the knee, do you think I would have hit the guillotine?” said Mokaev. “The guillotine wasn’t even locked. How the hell do people think I would go to their guillotine? They put me to sleep, but basically his foot was in my boxers and he said sorry, ‘I’m sorry’, and he stopped, and I said, ‘Okay, let’s go.’ That’s what I said.

“Let’s go, man. He wants a rematch. I respect this guy. I don’t know why he says this. In fact, I was angry because I gave him a lot of respect that I don’t give to anyone. I see he’s holding a bible before the ride and I’m like this guy is religious, he came here, he fought for his family. I respect him, a warm welcome in the UK When he says this, it’s not nice, to be honest. He lost it. Get lost like a man.”

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